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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are now law. Whether you favored or opposed their enactment, a full understanding of the new laws is essential to further discussion of reform issues, including how implementation will be approached. To answer your questions about the major […]

Ten years ago, a landmark study on patient safety, “To Err is Human,” was released by the Institute of Medicine. Patient safety has come a long way since then. Or has it? Since 1999, we’ve seen innovations in health information technology that have the potential to greatly enhance patient safety. There is growing evidence about the […]

Engaging consumers more directly in their care may improve health outcomes and help control the costs of care. This program will focus on the potential for changing consumer behavior to promote the use of effective interventions and discourage unnecessary care. How promising are consumer engagement techniques such as patient self-management, shared decision-making and value-based insurance […]

Medicaid programs are feeling the strain as enrollment grows while state revenues come in lower than projected. This briefing, cosponsored by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, looked at the recession’s effect on Medicaid programs and low-income individuals and families. Speakers: – Robin Rudowitz, principal policy analyst for the Kaiser Commission and former Medicaid […]

Health insurance exchanges can potentially serve a variety of policy ends, from promoting transparency and competition among health plans, to pooling or reallocating risk and administering subsidies for those unable to afford health insurance premiums. Exchanges can also play a role in health insurance oversight. Many of these functions are being carried out by the […]

Unhealthy behavior is costing America billions in health care expenditures, and making us less healthy as a people. Many large employers, recognizing the impact on the health of their workers and the companies’ bottom lines, offer financial incentives to their employees to exercise regularly, improve their diets, lose weight and quit smoking, among other things. […]

One of the main goals of health reform is to increase access to health care.  Frequently overlooked in this effort is finding effective and efficient mechanisms for determining eligibility and enrolling those who are eligible for existing public programs, primarily Medicaid and the the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). How can recruitment and enrollment be […]

The health reform proposals being considered in both houses may impose responsibilities on both individuals and employers to have, and help pay for, coverage. Subsidies for some small businesses and for individuals with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level have been proposed. But will individuals and businesses be able to pay […]

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) play a crucial role in the U.S. health insurance system by providing coverage for more than one in four children. The number of children in CHIP is at an all-time high, having grown 15 percent over the past year alone. About half of Medicaid’s enrollees are children. […]

The experience of other countries may help inform the debate as U. S. policymakers grapple with health reform and the regulatory mechanisms needed to contain costs while improving quality, efficiency and coverage. This briefing, cosponsored by The Commonwealth Fund, examined the quasi-governmental authorities that Germany, the Netherlands and France have established. Operating within broad legislative frameworks […]

Health care delivery poses unique challenges in rural communities. Provider shortages are particularly acute in rural America, where levels of educational achievement are generally lower and there are fewer opportunities to receive medical training. Unemployment and uninsurance rates are higher in rural areas than elsewhere. Join us for a discussion about how some aspects of […]

Public support for health reform waxes and wanes depending, not only on what’s being proposed in the reform proposals, but also on who asks the question and how it is asked. Some recent polls indicate a majority of Americans support health care reform now; is that still the case? Do people want to pay for […]